Safety net devices function for the purpose of mechanically sealing off the luggage compartment or trunk from the passenger compartment in station wagons or similar automobiles. They should prevent objects from being thrown from the luggage compartment into the passenger compartment in case of a rear-end collision or crash, where they would injure or kill the passengers. For this purpose, the opening which is below the inside roof lining and is remaining, for example, above the edge of the rear seat back rest is closed with the safety net when such a danger potentially exists.
If on the other hand, an endangering-of the passengers can be ruled out with certainty because the loading height in the luggage compartment does not exceed the height of the rear seat edge, and also because objects sliding together can not pile up in such a way during a rear-end collision that they climb over the rear seat back rest, the safety net does not need to be used. On the contrary, it then becomes rather disruptive.
For this reason, the safety net is frequently constructed in the manner of a self-erecting window shade.
The patent EP-A-0 649 778 shows a safety net device of this type. The known safety net device has a housing, in which a winding shaft is set in bearings so that it can rotate. Onto the winding shaft, a safety net is attached with one edge and its other edge is provided with a pull bar. The pull bar carries anchorage components, which can be suspended in the corresponding receptacle bays in the car body.
The spring drive, which pretensions the winding shaft in the wind-up direction, is relatively powerful, in order to hold the safety net sufficiently tautly tensioned when it is reeled-out. The spring motor, however, is not so strong that it could retain the objects that are thrown against the safety net, during a crash or a strong braking operation.
In order to be able to deploy the safety net in the known arrangement, the pull bar must first be pulled sufficiently far out of the housing against the action of the winding spring. Only then can the anchorage components be suspended in the receptacle bays.
On account of the strength of the spring motor, a considerable force is necessary for this and on top of that, the receptacle bays are difficult for a service person standing in front of the luggage compartment opening of the vehicle to see because of the vehicle geometry. For the service person, it is therefore not easy to suspend the anchorage components in the receptacle bays, especially taking into account the somewhat unfavorable bodily posture with outstretched arms, which is necessary for this operation.